SHF-SleepNeeds-0911
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Sleep Needs Across the Lifespan
Important Things to Know About Sleep Needs
Across the Lifespan
•
Sleep need gets less with age until around 20 years old
when it stabilises.
•
How much and how fast this happens depends on the
person.
•
It is normal for children to have daytime naps until 3 to 5
years old.
•
If a child takes naps often past this age, he or she might not
be sleeping enough at night.
•
Teenagers will tend to want to go to bed later, and sleep in.
•
Older people spend more time in bed, but their sleep
requirement is normally similar to that of early adult life.
How do our sleep needs change with age?
It is well known that as children get older they need less sleep. Different people have different sleep needs. The advice in
the table below is only a guide. You can make a good guess if a person is sleeping enough at night - observe at how they
act and function during the day.
AGE GROUP
TOTAL SLEEP
(hrs/day)
SLEEP AT NIGHT
(hrs)
SLEEP DURING DAY
(hrs)
NEWBORNS
(0 – 2 mths)
12 - 18
6-9
6-9
INFANTS
(2 – 12 mths)
14 - 15
9 - 12
2.5 - 5
TODDLERS
(1 – 3 yrs)
12 - 15
9.5 - 11.5
1.5 - 3.5
PRESCHOOL
(3 – 5 yrs)
11 - 13
Most sleep is at night.
Daytime naps become rarer. A child
tends to stop napping at this age.
SCHOOL-AGE
(5 - 12 yrs)
9 - 11
All sleep should be at night.
Naps at this age tend to be from not
getting enough sleep at night.
TEENAGERS
(12 - 18 yrs)
8.5 - 9.5
All sleep should be at night.
Naps at this age tend to be from not
getting enough sleep at night.
ADULTS
7-9
All sleep should be at night.
Naps at this age tend to be from not
getting enough sleep at night.
Note that these are average sleep requirements: some people require more and others less.
www.sleephealthfoundation.org.au
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©Sleep Health Foundation, 2011
Raising awareness of sleep health
SHF-SleepNeeds-0911
7/2/12
4:22 PM
Page 2
How does napping change with age?
Why do teenagers want to stay up later?
From birth to two months of age, the length of one
period of sleep can be from 30 minutes to 3 - 4 hours.
This is throughout the day and night. Babies fed from the
bottle tend to sleep for longer at a time than breast-fed
babies (3-4 hours versus 2-3 hours). See also Tips to Help
Babies Sleep Better.
In this age group, there is a change in the timing of
sleep. It is natural for them to want to go to bed later at
night and to sleep in. However this should be within
reason and teenagers often need to be taught good
sleep habits. They need to know that they won’t function
as well during the day if they miss sleep and fail to catch
up on it. See also Teenage Sleep.
From 2 months onwards babies start to sleep for longer
at a time. This is especially so at night between 12
midnight and 5am. The reason for this is that they start
to develop their internal day-night (circadian) rhythm
that favours sleep at night and being more awake during
the day.
Adult sleep
Sleep requirements stabilize in early adult life, around
the age of 20. Individuals vary in their sleep needs but
most adults require between 7 and 9 hours a night to
feel properly refreshed and function at their best the
next day. Many try to get away with less sleep. There are
some who are genuine short sleepers while others may
require considerably more than the average requirement.
The reasons for this individual variability in sleep
requirement are not well understood.
By 6 months of age, babies can get 5 – 8 hours of sleep
at night. However 25-50% of 6 month olds still wake up
at night. There are things that can be done to counteract
this including ensuring that they learn to go to sleep in
their cot by themselves at the start of the night. Then
they are more able to self-soothe themselves back to
sleep after waking up during the night.
Older adults spend more time in bed but unless a sleep
problem has developed the requirement for sleep is
similar to that in their younger adult life.
From 2 months to 12 months, the number of daytime
naps goes down from 3 - 4 naps to two naps. Morning
naps usually stop between 12 and 18 months of age.
For further information see:
Always give a chance for an afternoon nap after lunch
and before 4pm. Daytime naps become less common
from about 2 or 3 years onwards.
www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au or
www.sleepfoundation.org
Consistent daytime naps after 5 years of age are not
normal. The child might not be getting enough sleep at
night. This may be due to poor sleep routines, sleep
problems or sleep disorders. It may need to be followed
up with a Sleep Specialist.
See also Behavioural Sleep Problems in School Aged
Children and/or Children’s Sleep Disorders.
This information is produced by:
Sleep Health Foundation
ABN 91 138 737 854
www.sleephealthfoundation.org.au
Sleep Disorders Australia
ABN 98 075 427 459
www.sleepoz.org.au
Australasian Sleep Association
ABN 32 172 170 561
www.sleep.org.au
A national organisation devoted to
education, advocacy and supporting
research into sleep and its disorders
A voluntary group offering assistance
and support to people and their
families living with sleep disorders
The peak national association of
clinicians and scientists devoted to
investigation of sleep and its disorders
Disclaimer - Information provided here is general in nature and should not be seen as a substitute for professional medical advice.
Ongoing concerns about sleep or other medical conditions should be discussed with your local doctor.
©Sleep Health Foundation, 2011
Sleep Health Foundation
ABN 91 138 737 854
114/30 Campbell Street, Blacktown NSW 2148
T: +61 (0) 2 8814 8655 F: +61 (0) 2 9672 3884
www.sleephealthfoundation.org.au
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Raising awareness of sleep health